Published: June 23, 2008 08:42 pm         

Mother, son team volunteer for dog days of summer

Kathy Toppins — The mother and teenage son team of Joellen and David Peterson commit most weekday afternoons to walking all the adoptable dogs at the Edmond Animal Shelter.

“We could be here a short or long time, depending on the number of adoptable dogs,” Joellen Peterson said, “but we stay until we walk them all.”

This is the second summer they have volunteered at the shelter through Paws for Life Inc., a charitable organization that recruits volunteers to exercise and socialize dogs and cats.

“We’re a great team,” Joellen Peterson said. “David handles the pulling dogs, the ones who need more practice walking on a leash. He also scoops the poop,” she said with a laugh.

Sometimes David runs with a dog that wants more exercise than a walk provides. David prefers the “hyper” dogs, a complimentary description, he said.

David, a sophomore at Memorial High School, said he becomes attached to the dogs after spending so much time with them. Both mother and son admitted they have mixed emotions when one of the dogs is adopted. “I raised that dog,” David said.

“Volunteering at the shelter gives David and me something to do together that is fun and beneficial in helping the dogs get adopted,” Joellen Peterson said. “Dogs have always been a big part of our family. Over the years we have adopted five strays and wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The Peterson family currently includes two dogs, an Australian shepherd mix named Smokey and a yellow Labrador retriever named George. George is a certified therapy dog who visits a battered women’s shelter.

When Joellen and David finish walking the adoptable dogs, they visit the adoptable cat room “because David loves cats,” she said. Last Wednesday they took the time to let all the kittens out of their cages, one cage at a time, for high-energy play with toys provided by the shelter.

“We desperately need more volunteers like Joellen and David,” said Mary Robertson, president of Paws for Life.

Robertson encourages anyone interested in volunteering at the shelter to come by Sacred Heart Catholic Gifts, 15 S. Broadway Ave., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The downtown Edmond gift store is having a Paws for Life Day. “We will have volunteers available to answer questions and take applications for new volunteers,” Robertson said.

Robertson’s husband, J. Michael Robertson, will be available from 1-3 p.m. to sign his book, “Are There Giraffes in Heaven, What About Hippopotamuses?” He wrote the book to uplift parents and children who worry about or are grieving the death of a pet. Paws for Life receives a portion of the sales from his book.

Paws for Life was incorporated in August 2002 after volunteer Lynn Cherry and Robertson started walking dogs and saw a need for daily exercising, socializing and obedience training for the dogs, and playing with the cats. Since then, they also have educated the public on the need for spaying and neutering, promoted shelter adoptions, expanded a fostering program, and raised funds for veterinary medical emergencies, fencing a dog exercise area at the shelter and other shelter needs.

To this list of activities, the organization recently added promoting awareness of current animal abuse legislation and supporting legislation to prohibit transporting dogs in pickup beds.



TO MAKE A donation to Paws for Life Inc., send checks to: Paws for Life Inc., P.O. Box 3211, Edmond, OK 73083 or drop them off at the animal shelter in an envelope marked “Paws for Life.” For more information, call Robertson at 340-2425. Paws for Life volunteer applications also are available at the Edmond Animal Shelter, 2424 Old Timbers Dr., on the southeast corner of Covell Road and Interstate 35. Edmond Animal Welfare may be reached at 216-7615.

     

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.